Rhabdomyolysis is not a well-understood adverse effect of antipsychotic use. Proposed mechanisms suggest involvement of serotoninergic and/or dopaminergic blockade. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between antipsychotic use and rhabdomyolysis. Patients admitted with rhabdomyolysis and taking an antipsychotic from January 2009 to October 2011 were included. Background demographics, laboratory data, medical and physical history, concomitant medications, and hospital course data were collected. Of the 673 cases admitted with rhabdomyolysis, 71 (10.5%) were on an antipsychotic. This is significantly greater when compared to the general US population, where only 1.3% of individuals take an antipsychotic drug (P < .0001). Cause of rhabdomyolysis was not documented in 38% of cases, and antipsychotic use was suspected in 10% of cases. No significant correlations were found between antipsychotic type and other patient-specific parameters. Seventeen (25%) of these patients were taking 2 or more antipsychotics. The largest percentage was on quetiapine (Seroquel(®); AstraZeneca, Wilmington, Delaware), the most commonly prescribed antipsychotic in the United States. Antipsychotic use is a risk factor for rhabdomyolysis and seems to be more common in those taking multiple agents. More research needs to be done to determine which antipsychotics have a higher risk and which receptors are involved. Providers should be aware of rhabdomyolysis associated with antipsychotic use.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
4
10%
Psychology
2
5%
Chemistry
2
5%
Other
3
7%
Unknown
14
34%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 9. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 28 July 2026.
All research outputs
#5,699,594
of 33,239,717 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Pharmacy Practice
#161
of 1,153 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#58,214
of 383,072 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Pharmacy Practice
#6
of 33 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 33,239,717 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 82nd percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,153 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.5. This one has done well, scoring higher than 86% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 383,072 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 84% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 33 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 81% of its contemporaries.
